Sergeant

Wallace Johnson Mowbray

Maryland State Police, Maryland

End of Watch: Sunday, August 10, 1975

Biographical Info

Age: 39
Tour of Duty: 14 years
Badge Number: Not available

Incident Details

Cause of Death: Gunfire
Date of Incident: August 9, 1975
Weapon Used: Shotgun
Suspect Info: Four convicted of murder

Sergeant Wallace Mowbray was shot and killed while checking on a suspicious vehicle parked in a liquor store parking lot in Chester, Maryland, shortly before midnight.

He was checking a license plate over the radio when he was struck by a shotgun blast before dispatchers advised him that the vehicle had been stolen from Virginia. He was flown to a hospital in Baltimore where he died shortly after midnight.

All four suspects fled from the scene. Two suspects, who were later convicted of doing the shooting, kidnapped a couple in Chester, took their car, and raped the woman. They were captured several hours later. The other two suspects stole a boat and headed toward the Western Shore. They were captured two days later.

All four suspects were convicted of Sergeant Mowbray's murder. One of the subjects was sentenced to life plus 95 years for rape, kidnapping, and other crimes committed before and after Sergeant Mowbray's murder. In 1982 he escaped from prison and was placed on the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list. He was captured 14 months later. In 1991 he won a new trial that resulted in less serious convictions and a 27-year sentence. He was paroled in 1993. Four months later he was sent back to prison for four years when he violated his parole with a disorderly conduct charge. In 1999 he was sent back to prison again when he took money from a charity jar in a Glen Burnie, Maryland, cafe. On December 1st, 2003, he was arrested and charged with robbing a Glen Burnie bank. He was convicted of armed robbery and sentenced to 20 years in prison on June 18th, 2004.

The other subject convicted of the shooting was sentenced to life in prison. The third man was sentenced to 55 years and the fourth was sentenced to 20 years.

Sergeant Mowbray had served with the Maryland State Police for almost 14 years.